Winthrop Volleyball Falls To Davidson In Five Sets Tuesday In Non-Conference Action

DAVIDSON, NC – The Winthrop volleyball team overcame a two-set deficit Tuesday, but fell in a five-set affair to the Davidson Wildcats in a non-conference tilt.

Winthrop fell to 10-5 overall with the loss while Davidson improved to 10-5 on the season.

The Eagles found themselves with a chance to take the opening set as Winthrop had three set points, starting at 24-21. Davidson took three straight points and then the teams went back and forth with each having a chance to end the set. After the teams were tied 30-30, the Wildcats took the last two points to win the first set 32-30.

After any early lead by the Eagles in the second set, Davidson responded and took control. The Wildcats took their first lead at 8-7 and then didn’t relinquish it, taking the second set 25-22.

Davidson looked to be in cruise control in the third set on its way to victory, up 15-10. Winthrop did not go quietly as the Eagles slowly chipped away at the Wildcat advantage. The Eagles were down 22-20 before going on a 5-1 run to close out and win the third set 25-23.

The two teams were even through the first 30 points of the fourth set at 15-15. Davidson then went on a 9-5 run and sat on match point at 24-20 when Winthrop coach Bruce Atkinson was issued a yellow card. The Eagles took a little momentum off this and closed the fourth set on a 7-1 run taking the fourth set 27-25, forcing a fifth set.

Winthrop continued its momentum into the fifth set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. The Eagles continued to lead at 8-4 before Davidson went on a 6-1 run to take a 10-9 lead. The two teams traded points and were tied at 13-13 before the Wildcats took the final two points of the match, winning the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.

Alina Sopizhuk led all hitters with 23 kills, a season-high. Rachel Lenz and Irene Ojukwu each tallied 14 kills while Hjordis Eiriksdottir finished with 11. Jessie Vicic notched her eighth double-double of the season with 63 assists and 16 digs.

The Eagles will return to conference play on Friday when they take on Presbyterian in Clinton, SC at 7 p.m.